When New Jersey Met Norway

In June 2009, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band had a few concert dates in Bergen, Norway, and two Oslo TV writers, Anne Bjørnstad and Eilif Skodvin, decided to make the trip west. They didn't just come for the music, but for a meeting with guitarist and actor Steven Van Zandt, an alumnus of the HBO mafia series, "The Sopranos."

Ms. Bjørnstad and Mr. Skodvin had an idea for a new series—about an American mafia boss,...